


Symmetry

by cody_eja



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, they all have one brain cell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24914014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cody_eja/pseuds/cody_eja
Summary: This is the most romcom thing I have ever written and I'm not sorry
Relationships: Aqua | Azura/Lazward | Laslow, Charlotte/Marx | Xander
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _"Duality is not a curse, but a gift." ___

One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. 

One, two, th– no, that wasn’t right. Laslow sighed in frustration at yet another failed practice. He’d found his concentration to be scarce in recent times, which was having quite the impact on his performance. Not that anyone was watching.

Truthfully, Laslow rarely had an audience for his dances. He was far too embarrassed to do them in public often, and Azura…

Well, Azura hadn’t shown up to one of his late night practices in about a week now. For the first time that he could remember, Laslow found himself missing the presence of someone to watch him. Had he scared her off with his flirting? He sincerely doubted that, as he hadn’t really done much in that area with the princess. After all, she was a  _ princess _ . He obviously didn’t quite have a chance there.

No matter how much he wished he did.

Perhaps she’d heard word of him flirting with other women around the camp and was disgusted by his behaviors. Yes, that was likely the case. She even seemed to avoid him during the day too, barely offering more than a mumbled ‘hello’ before quickly walking elsewhere, even if she’d literally just gotten there in the first place.

It wasn’t really the first time he’d garnered a negative reaction from his flirting. Back in Ylisse, Lucina and Severa scolded him quite often. Hell, Severa– Selena, that is– still did. However, Laslow was fairly certain he’d toned down those aspects of him quite a bit in that time, and he’d certainly never gotten a reaction quite like this, even while he was in Ylisse. There was yelling, reprimanding, even threats, but never straight-up avoiding him.

Of course, Laslow was well aware of exactly why it hurt so much more this time around. He’d been a fool and allowed himself to fall in love with her. Frankly, it wasn’t something he ever thought would happen to him, but here he was. Azura was just– her voice, her beauty– everything about her was truly enchanting. And when she complimented his dancing, even joining in with her song? Well, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Actually, on second thought, maybe that was it. Perhaps she’d discovered his infatuation with her and was creeped out? She was so good at interpreting the emotions and meanings of Laslow’s dances, so it would be no wonder if she’d put the pieces together.

Suddenly, he realized he’d been standing there idly for quite some time. The moon was nearing its peak, and he needed his sleep. Stretching for a moment, he headed back for his quarters. His miserable pining could wait.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Laslow’s stomach grumbled as he trudged towards the mess hall, still bleary-eyed from sleep. Everything seemed quiet for once, for which he was quite appreciative. After the emotional trainwreck that was his attempt at falling asleep last night, he could definitely use the break.

“Oh, there you are Laslow! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

He was quick to suppress a groan. Even he could tell that Charlotte’s ‘dainty’ personality was complete bogus and wanted nothing to do with her, contrary to what people had said about him behind his back. Regardless, he plastered as genuine of a smile as he could muster and turned to address her.

“And what can I do for a fair maiden such as yourself?”

Despite the fakeness of his flattery, Laslow was actually curious to what in the hell she wanted from him. He’d established quite some time ago that he was certainly not rich so that she’d stop bothering him.

Charlotte giggled and waved his comment off. “Oh, you flirt! I was just hoping you’d accompany me for some tea.”

Now, if it had been any other woman, Laslow might’ve been excited or even flustered at the idea of being asked out for tea, but this was Charlotte. He cared so little about the situation at hand that the mask came easy once more.

“Oh, well who am I to deny your request! You ask, and it shall be done, milady.” He gave a quick wink just to fully sell the act.

Truthfully, Laslow wanted nothing more than to just ignore her and move on with his day. But he was  _ Laslow _ , and if word got around that he’d rejected a woman’s offer for tea, well...

People might get a little too curious, and the last thing he wanted was for people to know about the Azura situation. He shivered at the thought of how Xander would react. Would he lose his position as retainer? Be cast out from the army for these inappropriate thoughts? He was on thin ice as it was.

So he just let Charlotte guide him into the mess hall and accepted his fate.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Oh, well who am I to deny your request! You ask, and it shall be done, milady.”

Azura’s grip tightened around her arms as she witnessed another instance of Laslow’s infamous philandering. She hated the twinge she felt in her heart at the sight. 

Azura had never considered herself a very romantic person. No, she left that role to be filled by Corrin’s optimistic and idealistic delusions. So, to fall in love during a war, with the worst possible person at that? It certainly took her by surprise.

Of course, she wasn’t a fool. There was no point in denying the swirling in her gut at the mere sight of him, the lightheadedness she’d feel when she’d hear about his flirtations, the heat of her face during their interactions. No, Azura knew exactly what those things meant. 

That didn’t mean she had to like it.

She just couldn’t  _ help _ it. Azura had seen his more sensitive side, his passion for dancing, his love for his mother. And, well, he didn’t look half bad either. Ugh, she’d fallen for the charms of a textbook philanderer– which was exactly the problem. He wasn’t the kind of man who’d settle down with one woman, someone capable of falling in love. Not to mention the fact that he’d barely even flirted with her once since his joining. Was she not even worth the effort?

She sighed, simply turning away from the pair of flirts to ponder her thoughts in peace. Obviously, Azura wasn’t about to confide in anyone. She’d never been truly close with anyone in the army, aside from Corrin and Laslow himself, and Corrin didn’t need the distraction right now.

Maybe she’d find some solace near one of the rivers that flowed through the astral plane, where the soft breeze was the only thing to fill her ears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all, cody here.
> 
> yeah really. im actually here. who woulda thought? 
> 
> anyway, big yikes to how long this took, and even bigger yikes to the fact that its only like 1.2k.
> 
> still not sure how long thisll be, but definitely not longer than 5 or 6 chapters so this isnt going to be a decade long effort.
> 
> also- i DO still have that chrobin one shot in the works. if anyone wants to see that first tell me and ill prioritize it.
> 
> at this point im out of dumb references so enjoy generic 'chapter x' titles

Once they were away from prying eyes, Laslow allowed his mask to melt away. “What do you want from me, Charlotte?”

She gave a fake pout in return. “Whaaat? Can’t a delicate maiden take tea with a dashing hero such as yourself?”

He didn’t drop his skeptical gaze. This was Charlotte. The odds she didn’t want anything from him were… well, probably about zero.

She gave a groan and an exaggerated eye roll. “Ugh, fine, be like that. But this is gonna benefit you just as much as me, so you’re gonna wanna hear this, twinkle toes.”

Ignoring the mildly insulting nickname, Laslow was a bit taken aback by her comment. Charlotte was never one to do favors for others without expecting anything in return. He didn’t respond, allowing her to go on.

“So  _ now _ you’re interested, huh?” She had a satisfied smirk on her face. “Well, I know about your little thing for Azula, or whatever her name is.” Charlotte continued, ignoring his blush. “I’m kinda in a similar boat here. I guess what I’m trying to say is, like, it might be nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff.”

Laslow was still playing catch-up. “H-her name is Azura! Er, Princess Azura, that is. And what do you mean you’re in a similar boat?” How could Charlotte possibly find herself in a similar scenario? Frankly, he found it hard to believe she felt much of anything at all in terms of emotions.

She groaned again. “I’ll save you the sob story, but I was trying to cozy up to Prince Xander, y’know? He saw straight through it, obviously, but– even then! He treated me with respect, complimented my battle skills. He’s just…” She donned a blush of her own, this time. “I don’t know…”

On one hand, Laslow was a bit angry to find out she’d been attempting to seduce his lord, but on the other hand, he sympathized with her plight. She seemed uncharacteristically honest, and after knowing Xander for some time, Laslow wasn’t exactly surprised to find  _ any _ woman a bit enamoured with him. 

“So that’s why you wanted to talk to me. For… emotional support?” Laslow began putting the pieces together. “Not something I’d think you of all people would look for, but…” He had to admit, bottling up all his emotions towards Azura was getting quite tiring. Having a place to vent those emotions without fear of them being spilled to other members of the camp. It also certainly helped that Charlotte was going through a near identical problem. Perhaps they could even give each other advice.

She shook off her emotional look. “Now you’re seeing it my way. Whaddya say, twinkle toes? Some reciprocal therapy every so often?”

Laslow took a moment to respond, but he’d pretty much already made up his mind. It didn’t seem like there were any downsides. Why not go for it? 

“When do we start?”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A few unexpected knocks had Xander looking up from some paperwork. He certainly wasn’t expecting anyone at this hour. Who could it be?

“You may enter.”

A familiar head of light blue poked through the door. “Am I disturbing anything, Xander?”

He set down his papers and pen. “Just some simple paperwork, nothing that can’t wait. What can I do for you?” It was very unlike Azura to go out of her way to speak to someone like this. Perhaps the matter was quite urgent.

Azura quietly made her way into his quarters and sat down in front of him. A few moments of silence passed, Xander patiently waiting for her to speak up.

“Well, it’s something of a… personal matter.” He gave an inquisitive frown at that. Xander certainly wasn’t the most qualified in the army for dealing with those.

She continued. “It– it has to do with your retainer…”

He stifled a groan. Of  _ course _ that’s what this was about. Xander had known something was up after a month of zero complaints. “How bad was it? I’ll see to it he receives his punishment by the end of the day.”

Azura immediately clarified in a rushed tone. “No! No, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“So… what’s the problem?”

She began rubbing her hands together in distress. “Um, what… what is your policy on the romantic life of royals here?”

Xander blinked. Did he hear her correctly? “You and he are… courting?” Laslow  _ had _ been on pretty good behavior towards the opposite sex as of late. Perhaps he finally decided to give commitment a shot.

Sighing dejectedly, Azura responded. “No…”

“But you’d like to be?”

Her face turned a deep shade of crimson. “That’s beside the point. What I really wanted to ask was… is it okay for me to feel this way? As a princess, I should be prepared for political marriages, right?”

Xander gave a small hum as he gathered his words for a response. “No, Azura. My belief– and I’m sure Prince Ryoma feels the same way– is that no one should be stripped of their right to find love. As royals, we are extensions of our people, not pawns in a grander game of chess. My point is, if we don’t allow ourselves to know how our people live, then who are we to rule them?” As an afterthought, he added, “And I would never willingly send one of my siblings or future offspring off for a petty political advantage without their explicit consent. Even then, I’d be a bit skeptical.”

She nodded, but her apprehensiveness remained. A bit confused, he attempted to further reassure her. “It is perfectly acceptable for you and him to enter a relationship with intentions of marriage.”

Azura merely gave off a feeble, “We– we aren’t…” before trailing off.

It was then that Xander finally understood why Azura had come to him, of all people. The look of hopelessness in her eyes, he’d seen it before. 

“You didn’t just come here to ask about our relationship policies.” It wasn’t a question.

She looked back up at him. “Well, no. There was… another reason. How did you know?”

He nodded sagely. “I’d recognize that look anywhere. Seeing as you came to me, I assume you know why.”

“I figured you’d understand how it felt.” Azura gave another sigh. “I’m just not sure how much longer I can go it alone.”

Xander gave a humorless chuckle. “Honestly, the similarities between our situations are striking. I’d say the only difference is that in my case, she’d agree to marry me in a heartbeat, but only for the wrong reasons.”

Nodding in agreement, Azura gave a wry smile. “Frankly, I don’t even think he considers me a woman; I can count his attempts to flirt with me on one hand. Though, perhaps that was what made it so I could become close with him in the first place.”

Xander took a quick look at the time before frowning. “I’m terribly sorry, Azura, but it seems I lost track of time. I have a meeting with Prince Ryoma very soon.” It was a bit disappointing that their conversation was cut short. “How about we meet again in the mess hall tonight and continue where we left off?”

She stood up. “I’d like that very much, Xander. Thank you for being so understanding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [you fools](https://imgur.com/PFmUJRA)

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bre0moeCMFU


End file.
